55.
In the context of prisons72 in which persons with disabilities are deprived of their
liberty, reasonable accommodation not only involves adapting the physical environment73
as a general obligation (accessibility) for the entire prison population affected by physical
constraints, as in the present case, but also addressing particular cases, with specific
measures designed to make effective the rights of persons with disabilities enshrined in
international human rights law, including all measures aimed at guaranteeing the right to
health.
56.
Regarding the reasonable accommodation required to ensure Mrs. Chinchilla’s right
to health, the Inter-American Court considered that the State had the obligation to ensure
accessibility to persons with disabilities deprived of their liberty, in accordance with the
principle of non-discrimination and the interrelated elements for the protection of health,
namely, availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality, including reasonable
accommodation in the prison, to enable her to live with the greatest independence possible
and in equality of conditions with other persons deprived of their liberty.74
57.
In this regard, I consider it very important to distinguish between accessibility for
persons with disabilities (supra. paras. 52-54) and the accessibility of the right to health to
a person with disabilities. While the first refers to a more general sense of adaptability in
the terms of the CRPD,75 the second implies, in specific cases, the implementation of
reasonable accommodation that would enable a person affected by a physical, mental,
intellectual or sensory impairment, to enjoy and make effective their right to health. This,
in the terms of General Comment No. 14 of the ESCR Committee, is related to accessibility
based on non-discrimination, since health care goods and services must be accessible de
facto and de iure to the most vulnerable and marginalized sectors of the community, without
In its analysis of Article 9, paragraph 1, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in
General Comment No. 2, requires States Parties to identify and eliminate obstacles and barriers to accessibility to,
inter alia: a) Buildings, roads, transportation and other indoor and outdoor facilities, including schools, housing,
medical facilities and workplaces and b) Information, communications and other services, including electronic
services and emergency services. Other indoor and outdoor facilities mentioned above should include, inter alia …
[prisons]. Cf. Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, General Comment No. 2, Article 9: Accessibility,
CRPD/C/GC/2, May 22, 2014, para. 17.
72
On the physical aspects of accessibility, the Inter-American Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities establishes that to achieve the objectives of the Convention, the
States Parties undertake to adopt measures to ensure that new buildings, vehicles and facilities constructed or
manufactured within their respective territories facilitate transportation, communications, and access by persons
with disabilities. And, in addition, all measures to eliminate, to the extent possible, architectural, transportation
and communication obstacles to facilitate access and use by persons with disabilities (Article III .1 b and c). For
its part the CRPD, recognizes the importance of ensuring accessibility to the physical environment by adopting
measures to ensure access to buildings, public roads, transportation and other outside facilities such as schools,
housing, medical facilities and workplaces. (Article. 9.1.a)
73
Cf. Case of Chinchilla Sandoval v. Guatemala. Preliminary objection, merits, reparations and costs.
Judgment of February 29, 2016, Series C No. 312, para. 215.
74
The distinction between accessibility according to the CRPD, and the accessibility of the right to health
according to the ESCR Committee, did not eliminate the State’s obligation to create goods, buildings and services
of an accessible nature in advance. In other words, in first instance, the States must provide accessible
transportation even before a person with disabilities is deprived of liberty, as in this particular case. However, when
this measure has not been adopted in advance, the adaptation of the means of transport for ambulatory treatment,
constitutes a specific situation, since not all disabled persons deprived of liberty would need to travel outside the
detention center to receive ambulatory treatment.
75
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